George W. Bush cancels appearance over Julian Assange's presence

By: Stephanie Condon
Topics: In The News ,; Republicans

(Credit: AP Photo/NBC, Peter Kramer)

Former President George W. Bush has canceled a scheduled speaking appearance at the YPO Global Leadership Summit after learning that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was invited to address the same summit, his spokesperson said today.

Mr. Bush's spokesman David Sherzer said in a statement that Mr. Bush accepted an invitation to speak at the Denver summit six months ago. The former president was slated to speak at the event tomorrow.

"This week, upon learning that Julian Assange had recently been invited to address the same summit, President Bush decided to cancel his appearance," Sherzer said. "The former president has no desire to share a forum with a man who has willfully and repeatedly done great harm to the interests of the United States."

Stephanie Condon
Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com.
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by goat5691 March 1, 2011 3:49 PM EST: It amazes me how some people will discard the obvious because it doesn't fit their position. The Scott Walker's out there will give tax relief to those that pay little or no tax and then hit the working man and woman to take up the slack. For all intents and purpose the act of bleeding the common worker by the rich so they don't have to pay taxes are PARASITES.
This is the act of sustaining a life at the expense of another s life. If the shoe fit's wear it.; Reply to this comment


by atomant59 February 28, 2011 12:24 PM EST: No you don't have to serve to be in office. However when you wrap youself in the American Flag like a tortilla, claim to be a super patriot and are so pro-war you don't bother to consider the consequences and the pit-falls of going to war. Well it doesn't make you a patriot, it makes your a fool that is resposible for over 4000 American servicemen and countless inocent civilians thier lives. Then add to that,the fact that you parade around preaching how every single life is a precious gift from god, well that make you an idiotic republican!!!; Reply to this comment


by gracianp February 28, 2011 12:16 PM EST: To quote this unelected former infestor of our White House:
"willfully and repeatedly done great harm to the interests of the United States."

This unequalled hypocrite surely must be speaking about himself.
After lying this country into endless wars after allowing the orchestration of 911,
this traitor should thank his lucky stars that Rove and his administration successfully infiltrated our
Department of Justice with their partisan traitors that remain there to this day, and that our current Bush-lite President refuses to "look backward"- as the Rule of Law requires.
In any other place and time, Bush would be in jail or executed along with his band of traitors.
One can only hope our nation will someday uphold the Rule of Law and try its own war criminals.; Reply to this comment


by goat5691 February 28, 2011 9:33 AM EST: BI recently came across this item...Bill Moyers: "Facts Still Matter ..."
Bill Moyers, Truthout: "While 'most of us like to believe that our opinions have been formed over time by careful, rational consideration of facts and ideas and that the decisions based on those opinions, therefore, have the ring of soundness and intelligence,' the research found that actually 'we often base our opinions on our beliefs ... and rather than facts driving beliefs, our beliefs can dictate the facts we chose to accept. They can cause us to twist facts so they fit better with our preconceived notions.' These studies help to explain why America seems more and more unable to deal with reality. So many people inhabit a closed belief system on whose door they have hung the 'Do Not Disturb' sign, that they pick and choose only those facts that will serve as building blocks for walling them off from uncomfortable truths."
This really sums it up and should be noticed by people that listen to Rush, O'Reily, Bachman, Boener, Hannetti and other "died in wool" Republicans. Dville; Reply to this comment

by domerguy February 27, 2011 4:24 PM EST

bush an his gop gang have done more damage to this country than anyone
in history.Now the right wing is trying to embellish this idiot with
being a great patriot.The banks are empty,1000000 are dead,2 countries
are destroyed,we are occupying people that hate our guts,unemployment is
high etc,etc.bush,cheney an rummy should be in jail instead of selling
their books.Better than that send them to Bagdad to live in the paradise
they created!!

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by JV1970 February 27, 2011 9:09 PM EST: Bush is no longer our president and hasn't been for over two years. Whatever condition our country is in or whatever happens to it now rests squarely on the shoulders of Barack Hussein Obama. He promised change. Well he's been in office for over two years and things are worse instead of better. We got change alright but it's change for the worse! It's time to stop blaming Bush and put the blame for what happens now on the one who's in office now!


by mykennon February 28, 2011 7:37 AM EST: JV1970 you are stupid. Do you realize that two years ago we were on the brink of a full blown recession? It was President Obama who stepped up and turned it around. President Obama inherited this mess and is trying to fix it! That's hard to do when every step you try take forward you have people blocking your progress.The Republicans in office don't care about America, they care about power and money(in their pockets). President Obama cares and even though repubs are blocking his every progress, he IS trying to unify America; and even though people like you are giving him crap.

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by Chuck_Glisson February 27, 2011 3:33 PM EST

To use George Dubya Dipstick's OWN WORDS against him;

"The former president has no desire to share a forum with a man who has willfully and repeatedly done great harm to the interests of the United States."

This statement would make MORE sense if Bush was talking about HIMSELF when describing someone who has done GREAT HARM to the INTERESTS of the United States!

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by trumpfan February 28, 2011 12:38 AM EST: He doesn't want to appear with someone who can speak and think intelligently.

by JV1970 February 27, 2011 2:51 PM EST

retiredgustav I suppose you are one of those who think it was a mistake for the US to get involved in World War 2 and should have just allowed the Nazis to continue to murder the Jews! There's no difference in what was happening then and what is happening to the Libyan people! They are being murdered by a man who is just as much of a madman as Hitler!

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by netsum0 March 1, 2011 12:01 AM EST: JV1970, your point is poorly taken. There is no similarity. WWII was national invasions by large scale armies which are COMPLETELY different from 19 criminals hijacking four planes, don't you think? Or supposed connections between Religious lunatics and a strongman who ran one of the most secular governments in that entire looney bin we call the Middle East.

Or are you so full of Fox News falsehoods (and if you want to debate me on that point I will be glad to take you up) you can't tell anymore what is reality and what is farce?

And there is a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE between World War II and the Libyan struggle. In fact, there is nothing at allsimilar beween the two. One was a series of foriegn invasions, the other an internal uprising. Have you been hanging with Martin Sheen or something?

by atomant59 February 27, 2011 1:38 PM EST

No you don't have to serve to be in office. However when you wrap youself in the American Flag like a tortilla, claim to be a super patriot and are so pro-war you don't bother to consider the consequences and the pit-falls of going to war. Well it doesn't make you a patriot, it makes your a fool that is resposible for over 4000 American servicemen and countless inocent civilians thier lives. Then add to that,the fact that you parade around preaching how every single life is a precious gift from god, well that make you an idiotic republican!!!

Reply to this comment


by netsum0 March 1, 2011 12:10 AM EST: JV1970. You must be a Republican. You just want to send everyone else's kids off to stupid wars that change nothing in the end, except dividends to shareholders of defense industry contractors. Ike warned us of this, and he was exactly on point. Greatest Republican President, ever. HE did more to defeat the Soviets than that fool Reagan ever did.

People who are devoid of critical thinking ability (you know them, glued to Fox News) always seem to want to keep following the idiots who killed our countrymen in the pursuit of oil, wrecked our economy by borrowing us into a hole we may not escape for two generatons, and, after spending almost TWO TRILLION DOLLARS STILL HAVEN'T DEFEATED al Qaeda or caught a glimpse of Osama bin Laden!!! Some Commander in Chief George turned out to be. What an ass.


by goat5691 February 27, 2011 7:08 AM EST: My one regret is that "W" won't read all the things that are said about him here. I have never seen a former living President have such a negative presence as he has. This is truly what the Republicans gave us to bring our country to its' knee's and continue to do so. Today it show's it's ugly head in Wisconsin. God help us if they get their way...it will be good bye democracy and hello oligarchy. Dville; Reply to this comment